Louise Pratt (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Today's question time was again an unedifying experience from the point of view of support for victims of sexual assault both in this place and in the message sent to the nation more broadly. Rather than reflecting on and responding to the questions asked by the opposition of the government today, in order to pivot to the real issues of the day affecting Australians affected by the cost of living what did they choose to do? Not to take note of their questions to Senator Gallagher but rather to take note of questions asked by the government of government ministers on issues like the cost of living. That was nowhere on your agenda today. You didn't raise the cost of living once in any of your questions. Instead, you sought to create trap and trick questions for Senator Gallagher about whether she declined a wedding invitation in 2014 or 2018 and whether it was misleading parliament to remember the date on which she had declined an invitation for a wedding she didn't even go to.

In my experience, having worked with Senator Gallagher at the time, for example, when the Brittany Higgins allegations were first aired on the television, what was actually going on inside the Labor Party among Labor staff who were responding to what was, frankly, a frightening, triggering allegation and episode for many people in this building, including many female Labor staffers, was dedicated attention to that work of creating a safe working environment in this place. That is exactly what was going on. It was creating a safe place for women in this building who had witnessed or experienced sexual harassment, bullying and abuse right across the parliament. That is where Senator Gallagher was focused.

How do I know this? I know it because that's exactly what was being discussed by Labor women, including with male colleagues and with younger staff who might have been sexually harassed in this building. That was the absolute focus of our attention, and the seriousness with which Senator Gallagher takes these issues today is the seriousness with which she has taken those issues right from the very start, which is to support victims of sexual abuse, sexual assault and sexual harassment.